Hope for Oakland Mills: A Bridge, a Park and a Thriving Retail Center

Probably no Columbia village center has prepped for a rebirth more than Oakland Mills, a place advocates say could stand to benefit from two major changes to its landscape: a new park opening this spring and a proposed bridge that would link the village to Columbia’s core.

The first 25 acres of Columbia’s Blandair Park, located on a 300-acre parcel of land on both sides of Route 175, between Route 29 and Interstate-95, will be open for the public on March 17.

And village advocates are closely watching the discussions surrounding , which would replace a deteriorating footbridge that now crosses U.S. 29 from Oakland Mills to Town Center.

If approved, advocates said it would create a better connection to Town Center, the location of the concert venue, and the Lakefront, among other amenities.

“The (proposed) new bridge, the success of our music and arts events and an outdoor farmer’s market all show that Oakland Mills is a unique and exciting place to live,” said Phil Engelke, village board member, who has lived 40 years in the village.

The Struggles: Keeping Businesses Afloat

A patchwork of properties with eight different owners, Oakland Mills Village Center has long struggled to keep businesses afloat in a location that’s “friendly and nice,” says long-time village revitalization volunteer Karen L. Gray.

“But in terms of retail survival there, it’s tough because there’s not enough traffic,” she said.

The retail center at Robert Oliver Place owned by Cedar Realty Trust is fully leased with a Food Lion anchor and seven other merchants.  Other commercial properties near the center include a Thai restaurant, convenience store, vacant former Exxon gas station site and a vacant bank, which a Little Caesar’s pizza franchise is set to occupy, Gray said.

A Bridge to the Future

A  36-page village center master plan that village residents put together with input from Howard County community planners in 2007 may go a long way to revitalize the retail hub as well to establish Oakland Mills as a Columbia destination center.

That’s because Oakland Mills could potentially bring a high volume of traffic to its core, as a new gateway to Town Center and beyond, according to proponents of Bridge Columbia, who want to connect east and west Columbia with a new “walkable urban corridor.”

“We support Bridge Columbia,” said Village Manager Sandy Cederbaum, speaking of Oakland Mills Village Board’s vote to endorse the proposed project. “We hope this becomes a reality, because the village center is within a half-mile radius of Town Center and this new bridge would have pedestrians, bikes and electric buses crossing it.”

Columbia historian and archives manager Barbara Kellner echoed words of Columbia founder Jim Rouse: “People will rise to big and dramatically good plans,” and then added her own: “This plan is exciting.”

There’s more to the plan than a new shortcut between east and west Columbia.

Bill Mackey, Howard County’s chief of comprehensive and community planning, said the Howard Hughes Corporation, a development firm that owns land in Columbia, is working on “conceptual ideas” for a bike and pedestrian pathway that would go from Blandair Park to Oakland Mills Village Center, then across Route 29 to downtown, and .

Howard Hughes Corporation officials did not return emails seeking confirmation of its bike and pedestrian pathway plans.

As to new redevelopment projects in the works for the village center itself, Mackey said his department has not received any application.

The bridge and roadway project has an estimated $10-15 million price tag, which advocates hope will be paid for with grant funding. But the first step, Gray said, is to win Howard County’s commitment to the project, which proponents will officially request at a budget hearing this week.

While Oakland Mills residents envision their village center as the hub for east Columbia transit services, they also embrace other activities and goals “to energize the village center,” according to the master plan.

Community Organizer Helps Energize Oakland Mills

Oakland Mills’ motto: “We value connections,” extends beyond transportation and includes schools, businesses and the people who live in the village. 

Fred Eiland is Oakland Mills's part-time community organizer, who is paid with Columbia Association funds to work with the village’s public schools, apartment managers and performing artists.

He launched the village center’s World Music Series, held in the Other Barn (the village center’s community space), staged jazz concerts, booked a successful “Arte Flamenco” show in January and will bring ’s orchestra to the Other Barn for a special concert on March 17.

Retired after a 27-year career with Giant food stores, Eiland says helping to energize Oakland Mills is the “perfect job” for him.

When he recognized that certain levels of the community weren’t getting what they should from living in Columbia, he went to bat for them. Case in point: The 1-year-old Columbia Swims program, which he coordinates with CA, the Talbott Springs neighborhood pool and Talbott Springs Elementary School. 

Parents of school-age children are allowed to use school-based documentation to acquire a CA pool membership--and ultimately sign up for subsidized free swimming lessons for their children.

“That’s how we connect with the schools,” said Eiland, who also obtained a $600 Wal-Mart donation to pay Spanish interpreters to assist swim program instructors.

All told, Eiland and other village residents have high expectations for creating more “vibrancy” at the village center. 

 “Taken together, all these elements represent a whole new chapter for Oakland Mills,” added Engelke.